Two families torn apart

A CHILD vanishes from a beach during a family holiday and is later declared missing, presumed dead. Torn (ITV1, tonight, 9pm) is a new three-part drama which has initial echoes of the Madeleine McCann story. It's about a couple who find their world ripped apart when their four-year-old daughter Alice disappears.

A CHILD vanishes from a beach during a family holiday and is later declared missing, presumed dead.

Torn (ITV1, tonight, 9pm) is a new three-part drama which has initial echoes of the Madeleine McCann story. It's about a couple who find their world ripped apart when their four-year-old daughter Alice disappears.

In the absence of a body, the case is closed. But her mother Sarah Hooper (Holly Aird) has never given up hope of finding her daughter and 12 years later she is shocked to catch sight of a girl she is certain is Alice.

Without understanding why, she instinctively knows in her heart that the girl is the daughter she lost, despite the protests of the girl's parents Stephen (Bradley Walsh) and Joanna (Nicola Walker).

It soon becomes clear that Sarah is right. It transpires that Joanna abducted Alice - now called Lori - before she met an unknowing Stephen, who has helped bring her up as his own daughter.

"The story is predominantly about getting her back and trying to find a balance of getting things right," explains Holly. "There are so many emotional complications which arose with this situation. There is no handbook telling any of them how they should react and behave.

"For the Hoopers, they have spent 11 years grieving Alice, only to find that she is alive. She has grown up in another household thinking that they were her family. It's very complicated and incredibly heartbreaking for everyone."

Holly adds: "It's probably the first time I've felt incredibly drained by work, or found it difficult to leave behind. I certainly didn't come home skipping and regaling hilarious stories of the day. I really am not, hand on heart, one of those people that takes their work home with them, but this was different, more intense.

"I was coming home from a long day and would have to learn six or seven more scenes for the next day. And they weren't light, fluffy scenes. These were heavy, emotional scenes. It was all quite relentless.

Shattered

"One would naturally assume that when Alice comes back everything will be perfect. But of course, how could it be? Everyone's lives have been so shattered that the notion of a perfect family could only ever be a poetic ideal for the Hoopers.

"But then, of course, we are not just dealing with one family; we are dealing with two. The loss for Joanna and Stephen is also just as enormous, and I think that's what makes it so interesting."

Former Coronation Street star Bradley thought he might struggle to escape the shadow of Underworld factory boss Danny Baldwin. But his first dramatic TV role since leaving Weatherfield is a huge departure.

"In the blink of an eye, Stephen goes from being the happiest man in the world to having the sky fall in. He has no idea about what happened in the past. He's been a dad to this girl for 11 years and to have her taken away in just one day is obviously devastating. He doesn't know how to cope.

"When I read it, it struck me just how sad and poignant it was and how different it was to my previous work. The timing was perfect for me. Stephen is just such a departure for me.

"His character is a highly emotive one and the nature of the piece is just so far removed from anything I've done before. It was precisely the change in direction this offered me that was attractive .

"I think for actors coming out of long running soaps, it's really important to have a little break from the screen and look for roles that are quite removed from the ones they played. I want to try and help shift perceptions people may have of me as an actor."

Did Bradley find himself being offered roles similar to soap favourite Danny? "Actually, no, I haven't found that to be the case. I was given about three or four ideas that weren't like Danny at all. I guess I was quite lucky in that sense. I was expecting to be offered roles that were a lot lighter, particularly given the fact that I've been Mr Light Entertainment since 1989.

"Oddly, having done Corrie, a lot of people forget that I did all that. I think people have forgotten that I hosted game shows. Drama is where I want to be at the moment."

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